Shine, Bright Holy Light
by nekuyr2005
Summary: Players are getting harmed in the world, and it's hurting them in real life. The System Adiministrations denies everything, while more players are getting hurt in real life. That is until one player dies. Now the game is under Martial law. It is monitered
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN… although one day I hope to.

A/n: Hey, this is my new favorite show, and of course, because it is, I had to write a fanfic about it. before I actually start with the fic, there are a few things that you have to know in order to understand it.

1) [shine bright morning light] if something looks like this, than it is one of those music note that you hear every so often. The lyrics are made up by me, but the music is taken from .hack//SIGN-so as not to confuse people about what the songs sound like. there will be very few of these, just enough to give it the .hack sign flavor.

2) I'm sure that a lot of you haven't seen all the episodes, and are very curious about the characters, so here's a small list of the ones that MIGHT appear in my story.

a)Tsukasa- Tsukasa is actually a girl, who had a bad childhood. after the .hack//SIGN fiasco, she was adopted by Bear.

b) Mimiru- an average high school student who is a little… okay maybe a lot immature. I think she liked Tsukasa-as more than a friend-and invited him to go with her to shimokita (not sure of the name) after he logged out, but after seeing how close he was with (Lady) Subaru, she changed her mind.

c) Lady Subaru- Also a high school student who got into an accident four years ago and was in a wheelchair ever since-plays the game to escape reality. She became very, very close to tsukasa-I think they were both in love with each other-before they found out he was a girl.

d) Bear- A 44 year old novelist, who is divorced and has a son that he never sees. the son plays the game as a wave master and tries to get daddy to buy him a car. at the end he adopts tsukasa.

e) BT- I have absolutely no idea who the hell she is. all I know is that BT stands for Bacon tomatoes-she never eats lettuce so she cut that out-Maybe she works in a fast food place, who knows-yeah I wouldn't admit it either.. just kidding.

f) Silver knight- A 23 year old, who works in a video shop. He worked with Sora after Subaru disbanded the Crimson knights. That was until Sora left him for dead.

g) Sora- A fourth grader who allowed tsukasa and the others to escape Morganna, by standing and fighting. Morganna killed his character and the fourth grader was shown unconscious. I don't know what happened to him, but I assume that he was killed, and that's how I'm playing him out in my story.

h) Helba- a master hacker, very famous. She wears white and has long blond hair. A friend of Sora's.

i) Aura- the little girl that was asleep. Once she woke up, tsukasa was able to leave the world.

j) Morganna- otherwise known as the world. She was the voice that gave tsukasa the guardian. she tried to keep Aura from waking by keeping tsukasa in the world.

There I don't think that I'll put any other characters other than those ones. Also, I'm sure like many of you, I was disappointed when Tsukasa turned out to be a girl. I was hoping that him and Subaru would end up together, so in this story they do. No, they're not gay you bunch of perverts!! What the hell do I mean? well, you'll just have to read to find out.

Okay, that does it for the authors note. Stay tuned for the chapters.


	2. Chapter I

Disclaimer: I do not own .Hack//SIGN.

Chapter I

[♪Shine, bright morning light,

down from the heavens to the earth

Dreams, hopes, and delights

Give us these things 

That we all love

Shine, bright holy light

Spread our whole world 

With your great joy

Misery and plight

Please take things

Away from us♪]

A small boat slowly sailed in the middle of a quiet canal. It had no sail, nor did it have an oarsman; there were no waves in the canal, nor was there a heavy wind; yet the boat still moved forward, and didn't stop. It slowed down a few times, and sped up at others. It was as if it was controlled by someone's mental will, instead of physical will.

At the front of the boat, stood a beautiful young girl. She had short blue hair, and a pale white body. She had a pair of small wings forming at her back. She was dressed in a small white midriff baring shirt, and a very long white skirt, and she held a large axe in her right hand.

She looked down into the blue water beneath her and frowned at her reflection. She stared at it for a second, continuing to frown, until a small wave came from out of no where and blotted out her reflection. She picked up her head and turned around to a see a man with a red uniform, and a sword there, standing on one knee.

"When did it happen, Silver Knight?" She asked, looking deeply into his crimson eyes.

Silver Knight looked up at her. "Three days ago," he answered. There was a small silence after this. "Lady Subaru," Silver Knight spoke up, trying to break the silence. "Are you alright?"

"It doesn't make any sense Silver knight," Subaru said. "If this is supposed to be a game, how is it possible that a player can even be hurt, much less killed." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and relieve herself of the stress that she was feeling now. "I'm worried, Silver Knight," she continued. "If we don't find out how this happened, then it might happen again."

"I agree," Silver Knight nodded. "It was nice of the System Administrations to give the Crimson Knights official authority. Now that we have it, I'm sure we'll be able to start an investigation and figure everything out."

Subaru frowned again, and turned her back to Silver Knight. She once again looked into the river and stared at her reflection. "But is it right?" she asked.

"I don't understand?" Silver Knight said.

"Is it right to give us players the kind of power that they did. Don't forget, that is what we are, players in a game. And that is what this place is, a game. Nothing more, nothing less."

"A game has rules," Silver Knight said sternly. "And-"

"But nobody violated any rules," Subaru interrupted. "According to my reports, it was a monster that killed him, not another player. Don't you understand Silver Knight? The System administrations are using us in order to remove any blame from them." She turned around and sighed. "If anything happens to any other players, we'll be responsible. It's pretty convenient for the system administrations, isn't it?"

"So what do you believe then?" Silver Knight asked. "According to the system administrations, a hacker has invaded the game, and has set free some monsters that can hurt people in real life. The system administrations have given us free access to any field and any server in the world. We were given permission to defend the people from any danger, and to find out about the hacker who has invaded the world. I'm sorry Lady Subaru, but I cannot agree with your reasoning."

Subaru sighed and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry, Silver Knight," She said. "I just have so much on my mind right now, and when the system administrations asked me to lead the Crimson Knights again," she sighed again, "well, it just wasn't on my list of priorities."

"Lady Subaru," Silver Knight said slowly.

"I have been playing this game for a long time," she continued. "I thought it was my only escape from the real world. It was a place where nothing mattered, and no matter what happened, things would always work out in the end. A place where if you sustained any injuries, all you had to do was use a simple potion and everything would be fine. 

"Then one day, everything changed. That's when he appeared."

"Tsukasa?" Silver Knight asked.

"Yes," Subaru nodded. "When he appeared, he changed all the rules in this world. But as soon as Aura woke up, I believed that it would be over, and that everything could go on being exactly the same as it was before."

"And then you got the call telling you about the dead player," Silver Knight said exactly what was on Subaru's mind.

"Exactly," she nodded again. "It has been months since the fiasco with Tsukasa. Since then, we did not see, or hear anything remotely similar to that situation, and now this happens."

"How is Tsukasa, anyway?" Silver Knight asked, trying to change the subject.

"She's doing very well," Subaru answered with a smile. "She's living with Bear now and going to school. We met a few times and had some fun. 

"Only-" she gave a small sigh, and started frowning again.

"You wish that Tsukasa was actually a he," Silver Knight, once again finished her sentence.

"Don't get me wrong Silver Knight," she said quickly. "I'm very glad to have her as a friend, only, I was hoping for something more than that from Tsukasa. When we were together, I thought I fell in love with him."

"You can still love her," Silver Knight said.

Subaru turned towards Silver knight and gave him a strange look.

"True, it won't be the same type of love that you would've had if Tsukasa turned out to be a man, but it is still love nonetheless. You two can still make each other happy, just like Bear made Tsukasa happy when he adopted her. And maybe one day, you will find a boy just like Tsukasa, who will make you just as happy."

Subaru gave Silver Knight a small smile.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You're always so serious," she said with a smirk.

"My lady," he said, sounding more businessman like. "I think we should get back to the details of the boy that was killed."

"Yes of course Silver Knight," she nodded. "So where was he found?"

"It was in a field by-"

"No," she interrupted. "I mean, where was he found in the real world?"

"He was found in an apartment in Nakano. He was lying on the ground still wearing his visor."

"Really?" She thought for a second. "How old was he?"

"He was a fifth grader," Silver Knight said. "According to my reports he was gifted in school, and had only started playing two weeks before he was killed. That explains why he was able to get killed by a monster, while the others only suffered injuries. Everyone who was injured, was able to overcome the monsters."

"He was not so lucky, I see," Subaru said shortly. She gripped her axe tightly and faced Sliver Knight again. "Continue the investigation from here. I will personally visit the field where he was killed."

Silver Knight's eyes widened and started glowing. "My lady!" He said, sounding incredibly surprised. "Surely, you don't plan on going by yourself?" 

"This is something that I must do Silver Knight," she said sternly.

"But what if you run into one of those monsters? Let me send some of the Crimson Knights with you!"

  
"I am a player just like the rest of you. My life is no more important than anyone else's. Besides, I'd really rather to so some things personally. If you let others do everything, you lose yourself in the process. That is something that I learned a while ago." With that a few yellow rings surrounded her and teleported her away.

"Be careful my lady," Silver knight whispered.

"Dad! I'm home!" A girl called, as she entered the apartment where she lived with her adopted father. "Dad!" she called again, when she didn't get an answer.

"I'm in here, Tsukasa," a voice called from the living room.

Tsukasa quickly took off her shoes and ran into the living room. When she got there she saw her father staring at the computer screen, seemingly lost in thought. Tsukasa walked up to her father and looked over at the computer screen. It turned out that her father was in the middle of reading the message boards for the world.

"What's going on?" Tsukasa asked. "You have a real serious look on your face dad."

"See for yourself," her father said, pointing at the computer screen.

Tsukasa pulled up a chair next to her father and started reading what was on the message boards. As soon as she read the first line, she understood why her father had such a serious look on his face, and why he was lost in thought at the time.

"I can't believe it," Tsukasa breathed. "But these are just rumors?" Tsukasa looked up at her father. "Aren't they dad?" 

Her father stayed silent, but the look on his face was more than enough of an answer for Tsukasa. 

"How could this have happened?" Tsukasa asked.

"They're in the middle of investigating that right now," her father responded. "I seriously doubt their investigation will lead very far though."

"Why not?"

"The system administrations are denying the whole thing, and claim it to be a rumor spread by a rival company. The police, as well as the WNS seem to be backing them up."

"But I thought, there were no rival companies. After the whole virus fiasco's in the beginning of the twenty first century, the WNS took direct control over everything that goes on, on the net. If there was another company, it would be violating the laws."

"You and I both know that, but the common person doesn't. They are trying to play on that, hoping that no one will start asking questions."

Tsukasa frowned a bit. "If a person died, someone will start asking questions sooner or later."

"They're probably hoping for later. They probably hope to find out what happened back there, take care of it, and then cover it up." 

"How do you know that?" Tsukasa asked, looking up from the computer screen.

"They have asked Subaru to re-gather the Crimson Knights, and begin an investigation."

"The Crimson Knights?" Tsukasa frowned again.

"This time, the system administrations have given them the authority to do as they please."

"And Subaru actually agreed on this?" Tsukasa asked, sounding shocked.

Her father looked away from the screen and looked Tsukasa directly in the eyes. "A person died Tsukasa. I believe that Subaru is just doing what's best for everyone."

Tsukasa sighed and faced the computer screen once again. "Maybe so," she said. "But it still doesn't feel right. It just doesn't seem like something Subaru would agree to."

"How is the real Subaru doing anyway?" Her father asked, getting up from his chair.

"She's doing fine," Tsukasa replied, while readjusting herself, in order the read the screen better. "I met her last week, remember?"

Her father smirked. "Ah yes, you two have become really good friends, haven't you?"

Tsukasa flashed a smile, and said, "Yeah. Just because I turned out to be a girl, doesn't mean, that we automatically have to stop seeing each other. We'll just be regular friends instead of..." Tsukasa blushed a bit. "Well, you know." 

She looked over at her father and saw that he was putting on his jacket and getting ready to leave the house. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I am going to find out all I can about this boy that died. I will not let the system administrations cover this up."

"What are you going to do?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, I'm a novelist, aren't I? I'll find out all I can about the boy's background and about what happened to him, and then I'll write a book about it. It's probably the least I can do. We don't want the system administrations to make everyone think that the boy went suicide or something."

"Do you know anything about the boy?"

"His name is Moori Juuka (A/n: last name-Moori, means forest, and first name Juuka, the kanji that spell it is sumu-to live, and ie-house, so you can say his name would be forest dwelling), and he lived in Nakano. I'll start there. I left you some money to buy yourself some food. I'll be back later today." With that, he left the apartment.

'This is weird,' Tsukasa thought to herself. 'According to the message boards it was a monster that killed the boy. But that's impossible. If a monster kills you, you just get PKed, nothing else.

'Maybe I should E-mail Subaru and ask her what's going on?' 

Before she could access the E-mail page she saw a brand new message pop up on the message boards. It read: "Lady Subaru, your one true love is waiting for you, here with me. Expect him very soon!"

As soon as Tsukasa read this, she was forced to do a double take. "'Subaru's true love? Here with me?' Whoever wrote this obviously didn't make any sense." 

Then with a flash, just as quickly as the message appeared on the message board, it disappeared from it.

"What happened to it?" Tuskasa cried as she frantically started searching the message boards for the message. "Is it gone?" Tsukasa leaned back in her chair, and cupped her chin. "Could that have been someone's idea of a joke? And if it was, why was it deleted so quickly?" She sighed. "None of this makes any sense. I'd better include this in my mail to Subaru."

Subaru was sitting down on a green meadow enjoying the view in front of her, her hair was floating in the breeze of the wind, and her legs were tucked into her arms. Her axe was lying on the ground beside her.

"There doesn't seem to be any evidence here anymore. According to the reports, it was a monster that killed that poor boy; I shouldn't have expected anything more than that." She sighed and looked up. "But still, this is such a beautiful place. Not to mention that it's a field for those with lower levels. It makes little sense to send a monster that could kill here, unless it was only supposed to target the newbie's.

"Maybe Silver Knight was right. Because the system administrations gave the Crimson Knights more authority, maybe we might be able to find out more about this quicker, before anyone else gets hurt."

She blinked. "Huh? An E-mail? From Tsukasa? It seems kind of important, I'd better read it right now.

"I see she already knows about the boy that was killed, and rumors are flying around the message boards. And-" Her eyes widened as she read the next part. "My true love? Is with someone right now?" She shook her head free of any thoughts that were in it at the time. "What does that mean?"

She stood up, picked up her axe and started pacing thinking what that message must have meant. "I never had a true love, except for Tsukasa-back when I thought he was a boy-and since this message is even weird to her, then... could this have been someone's idea of a joke? But if it was, why was it deleted so quickly?" She sighed again. "It doesn't matter now. A boy was killed, that takes priority at the moment.

"But, maybe that message could have had something to do with the mysterious occurrences here. Maybe I should talk to Tsukasa in person about this." She stood there completely frozen for a second. "There E-mail sent.

"If that E-mail wasn't a joke then it might be a clue to finding out what's been going on in the world."

Just then a few golden rings flashed beside her and one of the Crimson Knights appeared within it. He like most of the Knights was already on one knee. 

"Lady Subaru," he said. "There's been another one."

Subaru's eyes widened. "Another one killed?"

"No," The Knight said quickly. "Just attacked, he was able to overcome the monster. He has not yet logged out, so we had a chance to question him."

"Is he badly hurt?" Subaru asked, with concern in her voice. "Does he need to see a doctor?"

"No, he just has a few minor scratches, nothing that can't wait until later; he has assured us of that."

"Take me to this player I would like to speak with him," she said sternly.

"Right away, my lady!" With that he disappeared back to the town.

"Sorry Tsukasa," Subaru sighed. "But our meeting will have to wait." She sent him another E-mail, and then disappeared into town.


	3. Chapter II

Disclaimer: I do not own .hack//SIGN.

A/n: Quitelacking: the reason I am using the name silver knight instead of ginkan, is because not all of the .hack//SIGN readers saw the Japanese version, and are more comfortable with Silver Knight, rather than Ginkan.

Gray: thanks for telling me about Sora, I will incorporate it in my story now. Also the reason why the world wasn't shut down will be explained in this chapter.

A few golden rings flashed in a swamp, and revealed a frowning Subaru. She looked around the place, and immediately spotted a few Crimson Knights catering to a Heavy Sword. 

The Heavy Sword was a male with long brown hair, and green eyes. He had three red markings on his face; one on his forehead and one on each of his cheeks. He was dressed in nothing but a loincloth, and his body was completely red. 

Subaru sucked in her breath and started walking over to where the players were standing.

                "Lady Subaru?" One of the Knights said, as he knelt down. "We are glad you are here." The other Knights moved out of her way and did as the first one had.

                "Are you alright?" Subaru asked the injured Heavy Sword.

                "I'm alright, Lady Subaru," the Heavy Sword said, with a hint of a smile.

                "What is your name?" Subaru asked.

                "Just call me Shinkoro," he answered.

                "Can you please tell me what happened?" She asked, as she sat down beside him.

                "It happened kind of fast, but I'll tell you everything I can," Shinkoro nodded. "I stumbled into these pits by accident, I was actually trying to get into a dungeon on a completely different field.

                "As soon as I arrived here, the first thing I tried to do was leave, but for some reason I couldn't transport myself out. It was as if a barrier was set here.

                "And before I knew it, a huge lizard-like monster that I've never seen before, appeared out of nowhere."

                "Out of nowhere?" Subaru asked, giving the man a suspicious look. "What do you mean by that? Monsters can only appear from portals. And why weren't you able to leave the fields?"

                "That's the thing," Shinkoro continued. "I didn't see any portals. It was like poof, and it was there. And I really don't know why I couldn't leave. Like I said, I tried to. If I knew what was wrong I'd have probably done something to fix it."

                "That is very odd," Subaru commented. "Please, continue," she urged.

                "Well, I thought that it might have been a new addition to the game, so I started to fight it. The monster didn't seem to be very tough, so I eased up a little and let my guard down. And that when he…"

                "That was when he attacked, and hurt you," Subaru finished.

                "Exactly," Shinkoro stated. "I called for the Crimson Knights as soon as I could. I knew that you would want to know about this."

                "May I ask you another question?" Subaru asked.

                "Of course."

                "Who are you in real life?"

                "I am a twenty three year old police officer."

                "A police officer?" Subaru cried. She seemed a little shocked by his answer, but shook it off pretty quick. "Then, does that mean?"

                The man quickly shook his head. "No, this isn't an investigation. I am off duty now, and just wanted to play in a few dungeons."

                "What do the police think of this situation?" A gruff voice from behind Subaru asked.

                Subaru turned around and recognized the owner of the voice was a blond, female, Wave Master, wearing a Green and white robe, and carrying a long rod. The voice belonged to none other than her old acquaintance, BT. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

                "I read the message boards, Subaru." She said coldly. "I just came here to offer my assistance."

                Subaru immediately turned to the Crimson Knights. "This player's condition has already reached the message boards?"

                "It appears so," BT said, as she knelt down by Subaru and Shinkoro. "So tell me, why haven't the police done anything about this whole fiasco yet? Why are they helping system administrations cover it up?"

                The man immediately looked over at Subaru, as if asking her whether he should answer BT's question or not.

                "It's okay," Subaru nodded.

                "Well, I don't know too much about it, but I heard that it was a direct order from the WNS," Shinkoro said, with a serious tone. "The WNS is also helping system administrations cover up what happened. I believe that they're going to publicize the boy's death as a suicide."

                "That's awful!" Subaru cried. "How could they tarnish the poor boys death like that!"

                "Besides, everyone knows why the boy died by now," BT added.

                "Everyone suspects why the boy died," Shinkoro corrected. "Everything that we read on the message boards are considered to be rumors. And I believe that the common person will believe the word of the police, system administrations, and the WNS over the words of a few players on the message boards."

                "But why would they do such a thing?" Subaru asked, narrowing her eyes.

                "Isn't it obvious, Subaru," BT said. "The World is a very popular game. If too much word of this would spread to the public ear, then the WNS would have no choice but to shut the game down."

                "Maybe that would be best," Subaru said. "If players are getting hurt in the games, then maybe we should have it shut down. At least until we can get to the bottom of this."

                "That is not an option," Shinkoro spoke up. "Like your friend said, this is a very popular game. Millions, upon millions of people play it all over the world. If the WNS would one day, just shut it off, for whatever reason, it would lead to chaos. People would start rioting on the streets, destroying property, and even more lives would be lost in the process. It might even lead to a direct attack on the WNS headquarters."

                "He's right, Lady Subaru," One of the Crimson Knights behind them said. "All of the other players that were attacked and hurt in real life, have denied the whole thing to the police. Although we definitely know that it was the game that hurt them, their official quotes are: 'I slipped and fell', or 'I fell off my bike'. No one wants to admit the truth, because they fear that it will lead the shutting down of the world. The game is just too popular."

                Subaru sighed and nodded. "You are right," she said. She turned back to Shinkoro. "Is there anything else you can tell us about the monster? Any characteristics that might discriminate it from other monsters in this game?"

                Shinkoro thought for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm sorry lady Subaru, but looking for a aberration in the monster was not on my priorities list at the time. I was concentrating more on defeating it. One again I am sorry."

                Subaru slowly nodded and got back up. "It's okay, I suggest you have a doctor inspect your wounds." She turned to the Crimson Knights. "Help him log out. I will join you shortly, first I need to talk to BT."

                Both of the Knights nodded and took Shinkoro into town.  

                "Something very odd is going on again," BT stated as soon as the Knights left with Shinkoro. "How can players feel pain, if this is just a game?"

                "I see where you're going with this," Subaru said. "I have received an E-mail from Tsukasa. She is just as surprised by this as the rest of us are."

                "So she doesn't know what's going on either, huh?"

                "It's to be expected, she hasn't logged on since she was first able to log out."

                "It's to be expected," BT commented. "What if she won't be able to log out again?"

                "It's not that," Subaru shook her head. "She just told me that she doesn't need to go to the world in order to have fun. She is just as happy in real life."

                "So I take it that you two have met in real life then?"

                Subaru nodded.

                "I think it would be best for her to come back in."

                "Why?" Subaru asked. "Do you think that Morganna is behind all of this?"

                "I don't know, but she has experienced something like this before, maybe this has something to with the Key of the Twilight?"

                "I E-mailed Tsukasa asking her to come and meet me in the world tomorrow."

                "What was her reply?"

                "I didn't get one yet."

                BT stood there for a moment lost on thought. "Well, since there's nothing else I can do here, I might as well go back to reality. I'll E-mail Tsukasa, Bear, and Mimiru as soon as I log out. I'll tell all of them to meet in Mac Anu tomorrow." She was immediately surrounded by a few golden rings, which made her disappear.

                "I hope we can end this soon," Subaru said to her self.

A subway train stopped and opened its doors, and out of it came a forty-four year old man wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were blue. In the game this person is known to everyone as Bear.

                "The information I received back there wasn't nearly enough to even begin," Bear said to himself. "The police said that his death could have resulted from many different occurrences, but I have a feeling that they were definitely trying to cover something up." He sighed. "I can't believe that they'd simply lie to the public about this! Although, it does make the most sense. Besides, no one would really believe that a game could kill a person. Tsukasa, Subaru, Mimiru, BT, Sora, and I are the only ones who saw what the world is truly capable of achieving." 

                He walked up the stairs seemingly lost in thought. He was wondering the entire time, whether he should continue his pursuit in the real world, or give it up and try to dig something up in the game.

                "If I go inside the game, all I might get are rumors at best. Subaru will be straight with me, but I can't quote her, otherwise I'd get her in trouble with the system administrations.

                "However, if I stay out here in the real world, the chances of me getting a straight answer from the police, WNS, or the system administrations are slim to none. Plus if I go in the game, I might run into some of those monsters that are able to hurt players." He reached the streets and signaled for a cab. One stopped right by him and second after he raised his hand. Bear, opened the door and slowly climbed inside, told the driver where to go and then leaned back in his seat. "It's not much of a plan," he sighed. "But at the moment, it's all I've got."

A monster with the head on a crocodile and the body of a gorilla roared at the top of its lungs, while it drew out a long sword. It ran forwards and slashed what appeared to be a girl.

                However, about a second before the blade could even touch her, she seemed to have disappeared. 

                The monster shook his head and started looking around the area, obviously trying to find the girl it was trying to attack.

                "Yoo hoo," a voice came from behind the monster.

                The monster immediately turned around and swung his sword at the place where the sound came from, but once again, his target disappeared.

                Then before the monster could even regain proper stance, it felt a hand on its shoulder. 

                "Monsters here are so weak," the owner of the hand said. Immediately she applied pressure with that hand and used it to flip over the monster. As soon as she was right on top of him, she took out her huge sword and with one slice, cut the monster in two.

                The girl who slew the monster, smiled a bit and put her sword away in a sheath behind her. This girl had short brown hair, her entire body was orange except for two small paintings on her cheeks and she was wearing leather. Everyone knew her as Mimiru.

                "That was almost too easy," Mimiru said to herself. "How could a person end up getting killed in this field. Even a newbie should be able to take care of these bums." She sighed and sat down on the grass. "I've been here for hours and still have no clue what happened to that kid. I fought every monster here, asked every person here, went inside every dungeon here, and still don't have a clue what happened.

                "It's as if the monster was waiting for the kid to be completely alone before he made his move. But that doesn't make any sense. Monsters appear from portals that a player gets too close too, they don't follow players around. It's just not in their programming.

                "Of course, if this is something similar to what happened to Tsukasa, it doesn't really have to make sense.

                "Still, last time, no one really got killed, much less by a dopy old monster." Her eyes widened. "An E-mail? From BT?

                "Meet at Mac Anu tomorrow, Subaru, Tsukasa, Bear, Silver Knight, and I will be there to discuss the boy's death.       

                "Why not? It'll be good to see the whole gang again."

"Tsukasa," a strange voice called out. 

                "Tsukasa," it called out again.

                Tsukasa slowly opened her eyes and began to look around. For some reason, she wasn't the least bit surprised that she wasn't lying in her bed, like she was supposed to be. Nor was she surprised at the place she was at, which wasn't even her house. Instead she was in a large field surrounded by many trees, and flowers. The grass underneath her feet was as green as it could be. For some reason she felt familiar standing here in this place, as if she'd been here before.

                She started taking a few steps in a random direction, when once again, the voice called out to her. "Tsukasa," it called. "Follow my voice."

                Tsukasa started walking in the direction which the voice called, stopping every now and then to listen for it again. The voice called out a few more times, each time from a different area, causing Tsukasa to turn in different directions. She finally stopped walking when she reached the entrance to a dungeon. It was then, that she finally realized where she was.

                "Okay," she said to herself. "Might as well go inside."

                No sooner than when she took her first step inside a portal appeared in front of her.

                Tsukasa gave a small smirk. "A monster, huh," She was about to get her magic staff ready to fight, when she noticed that she didn't have it with her. Her eyes widened as she looked down at herself and realized that she looked exactly the same as she did in the real world. 

                She quickly turned around hoping to escape before the monster would appear, but as soon as she turned around, she noticed that the entrance from which she entered had disappeared. 

                She narrowed her eyes as she turned back to the portal expecting to see a monster there in its place. However, there was none there. Instead of a monster, there was a platform on which lay a small tablet. Tsukasa walked closer to it. She looked down at it, wondering what it was.

                "Take it," the voice said.

                Not knowing exactly what she was doing, Tsukasa picked up the tablet with both hands. As soon as she did, it began to shine a brilliant light. Tsukasa had to close her eyes in order to protect them from the blinding rays of the tablet.        

                After a few seconds, Tsukasa felt that it was over, and believed it safe to open her eyes again. Slowly, she opened her right eye, followed by her left and began to survey her position. 

                Oddly enough, she was no longer in the dungeon. She wasn't even in the game for that matter. She was back in her apartment.

                "Odd," she said to herself. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall and realized that it was three o'clock in the morning. She then looked down at herself and realized that she was still in her night gown. "What a weird dream," she said to herself.

                She was about to move around when she felt she was holding something in her hands. She looked down and realized it was the headset used to enter the world. "Why am I holding this?" She looked up and realized that the computer screen was on. "Was I in the game just now?" she wondered.

                She looked down at the headset, and then back up to the screen. "So," she said to herself, putting on a real determined look. "They want me back in there, huh?" 

                She grabbed a chair and started accessing the world. She put the headset on, and clicked on the icon to start the game. "Well, let's see why!"   


End file.
